Yes the seller lives with his daughter although she was at work when I went to view the car. It has had three owners and the seller even has copies of the original document stating who purchased it new etc. All owners live(d) locally and I intend to try and track them down before agreeing anything so that I can ask them about any known problems with it.
I spoke to my boyfriend who 'pretends to know' about cars and he said he'd have a look at it with me and take it for a test drive etc. His first comments were rust, reliability of a 20 year old car and zero accident protection. He did state that they were pretty much as reliable as any car of that era (and within that price range) but that I would be better off looking at something less fashionable and more reliable like a Hyundai or a Toyota. He suggested a Ka but said that his mate had all sorts of problems with spark plugs getting stuck(?) so said that we should be carefu. Only trouble is to him reliability is key - to me I prefer it to be fashionable.
He suggested waiting six months as he hopes to get a company car soon then we could sell his for £5k and for that, he reckon, he'd get me a top notch old style Cooper?
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Don't do it, SWMBO had a C plate and an F plate from new as company cars. Horrible little things. They went old before their time. People on this site and others knock the new MINI but take it from me, these are from a different time/space continuum. Look at it like this SWMBO's is 5 plus years old, it has never broken down, it doesn't have any rust even where stones have have chipped the paintwork and she never ever washes it. everything still works on it, it is serviced on the book and never sees a garage or maintenance beyond oil and tyre checks in between, I am comforted to think if she had a bump in it that she'd have a sporting chance in a modern car which has structural integrity as standard equipment and is uncompromised by poor quality steel,indifferent build quality and rot in structural members. I WOULD NOT ALLOW MY LOVED ONE OUT IN ONE ! Ask any of the Traffic Police officers that visit this site about Mini related bumps. If that doesn't persuade you just imagine this in a bump with an SUV, just imagine where that lump of an engine goes in a crash, these cars have no crumple zones, you will take the full brunt of it - they are not real world transport.
PS SWMBO's car is now nudging 85k a mileage that Minis could only dream of !
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Alas, a 20-year old Mini is a museum piece, not a tool for a daily commute.
You need reliability and safety above any other qualities, surely? I wouldn't expect the Mini to offer much of either. Especially not with damp Winter mornings just starting. (Maybe that's why the seller is getting rid?)
At least scan the local ads and garages to get an idea of what alternative cars you could get for your 800 quid? Bet there are loads of sub-10 year old Euroboxes with crumple zones and no rust.
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Having owned two minis over a period of 6 years, I would say "do not do it". They are delightful cars in many respects, but the day-to-day maintenance will get you down. I never relied on mine for work and on many occasions I had to cancel trips because of the latest problem. My recommendation would be a down payment on a Smart fortwo. The repayments will be less than the constant work the mini will require. The endless problems of owning my minis made me buy my first new car [Nissan Micra] and the relief was worth the monthly repayments, believe me. If fashion matters to you, then I would think the Smart is ideal.
Culmhead
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If your looking cheap & cheerful motoring them get a late 1994 onwards facelifted ( Airbag / seatbelt pretensioners / side impact bars ) Fiesta.
Cheap to run, any garage can fix them, parts cheap & much better then a Mini for everyday driving, so a Mini would run rings around it handling wise but thats no big loss.
Pick out a decent one to start with & you can get a few years motoring out of it & build up your own no claims discount at the same time before moving on to something better / newer.
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If you have back problems do not buy one.
If you want back problems , get one.
Very harsh ride, lousy seats.
We had 3 - the last 25 years ago.
They really belong to a different era.
And if it has minor rust, it WILL have major rust (hidden in sills etc).
And at 10 miles/day , the rubber bushes and seals will all collpase as they are >20 years old... That's all the subframes - fron and rear, the front tie rods, the suspension cones.. the drive shafts..
And if you are doing 10 miles a day that's a complete brake overhaul replacing all rubber pipes (perished) , all brake pipes (rust) and all wheel cylinders. You don't want your first emergency stop to be your last?
Great for fun days? Yes.
For regular reliable commuting ? Not without a comprehensive rebuild...
madf
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Any car with 3 star NCAP rating or less will kill you in a moderate accident looking at how a Freelander crumples up, yet idiots still buy them and put children in them, so if your gonna die or get seriously injured in either, why is the Mini any worse?
Ok, at very low speeds, your likely to be better off in the LR, but at anything above 40mph, the earlier Freelander folds up like tin foil, buckling in the middle of the roof - this isnt just from watching Top Gear either - I worked on site with a LR bodyshop - even a moderate accident could mean a new shell if its value was high enough as they are poorly designed.
There should be a national campaign to stop people driving them surely?
The 2 star Citroen Saxo, of which there are thousands, is a death trap looking at the crash photos. Does this mean that nobody should buy one?
Buying any £800 car is unlikely to get you anything very safe and at the age of cars we are talking about ( mid 90's or older ), I wouldnt want to trust the airbag systems to work properly either.
I think the point that people are missing is regardless of how safe or reliable a Mini is, thousands of people own them because only a Mini will do. Its a calculated risk, down to the individual, just like almost any car over 10 years old. I dont know of any reliable, very safe car you can get for £800 - a Ford Ka of this price will be rusting pretty bad too with a lovely rattly engine.
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Ive knocked a tree over in a 3 star 1998 Fiesta & walked away without injury.
Airbags, seatbelt pretensioners & crumple zones worked perfectly.
I would rather crash a Saxo then a Mini, At least the Saxo has side impact bars, seatbelt pretensioners & at least one airbag, Things the Mini never got untill around 1998 when it was facelifted.
I still think a mid 1990s Fiesta / Punto would be better then a Mini.
Corsa is worth a look but Vauxhall where very mean on safety kit & some dont even have a drivers airbag on a R reg.
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Anyone who suggests a car designed in the mid 1950s and built 20 years ago will have any crash protection left - if any was designed in in the first case - after rust has taken its toll has never looked at a Mini design.
Just look at the steeing column for a start. And if you think 20 year old seatbelt anchorages will survive a crash..
But then that's all irrelevant. If you crash in a Mini at any speed into any large and bulky object, it's likely to be death or serious injury. And to suggest a 50 year old design is safe in today's traffic compared to a Saxo or any car designed 30 years later is just stooopid.
I recall Minis crashing in the 1970s when 10 years old - I saw enough in scrapyards.. Driver and passenegr protection? Joke...
"I wouldn't be seen dead in one " - well if you drove one and crashed badly I'm afraid you would.:-(
madf
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Im not suggesting it is safer in a Mini, but past a certain speed, you will die either way.
With that logic though, if you ride a bike, and especially take your children out on the back of a bike, surely thats even more dangerous than in any car, so what kind of parents does that make them?
Thats working on the 'If you crash in a Mini at any speed into any large and bulky object, it's likely to be death or serious injury' logic applied to cycles which are also used on the road. Yet Im quite sure many of these parents seek out the safest car they can.
You have to decide whether what your choosing is an acceptable risk - crossing a road can be quite a risk - these things we do without a second thought, exposing ourselves to risk from being knocked down, yet we are unhappy unless our cars will save us from almost any eventuality.
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All this talk of safety is surely just nonsense,who ever thinks about crashing,airbags and crumple zones just there for the marketing men.
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Until you have been saved by an airbag & crumple zones you cant really coment on the matter can you!
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>>If you've only got £800, anything at this price is a gamble, and a looked-after Mini is probably no more or less of a gamble than anything else
Oh so not true, Avant! A nice modern car is much less of a gamble. This car is twenty years old, and was never designed to be an 'icon'/'long life'/'whatever'. Compare it to a Merc of the same vintage.
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">Any car with 3 star NCAP rating or less will kill you in a moderate accident <" No.
Volvo 244/240 (or even 144)
Mk2 Granada
Elderly Merc
XJ series Jag
No NCAP but survivability, 244/240 and Mk2 Granny estate can survive rear end shunts better than most modern cars. Why? Big seats and rigidity to keep the boy racers behind the back axle, Lots of box section to crumple if a lorry tries to get in via the rear end. XJ Jag probably offers the best combination of primary and secondary crash protection amongst the elderly brigade. Big elderly cars offer more protection in multiple shunts than smaller, modern cars.
">Buying any £800 car is unlikely to get you anything very safe<" No.
Volvo 244/240 (or even 144)
Mk2 Granada
(Are there any roadworthy Jags or Mercs below £800?)
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Tbh I'm not really buying a car (whether it's a mini or not) for the safety aspect. Most of the driving will be in urban areas so at low speed. I want someting small, fashionable, nippy and unique. For me a Ford Ka or any of the other suggestions so far only fulfill one - possibly two- of those desires. I appreciate a Mini is not the most sensible, or safe, car to purchase but it does fulfil my criteria. I forgot to add that I need it to be cheap.
There is no way that I would consider a Volvo or the like for a ten mile, twice a day commute! Whilst I'm sure the cars are excellent suggestions for safety, reliability and practicality for soley urban driving they just don't seem right for me to drive to work and back in - not to mention their lack of style (which I appreciate is relative)!
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"> Tbh I'm not really buying a car (whether it's a mini or not) for the safety aspect.<"
Ah, the innocence of the young!
Urban is more risky than motorway.
Have you considered an Ariel Atom?
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im not going into the inns an outs of safety in old bangors except to say what ive said before but will say again for new members
go to a breakers yard/ salvage auction/ accident holding yard /etc and look at what older cars like minis really look like in a small time accident they arent pleasant at all.
As powerlee and others have said at least something like a fiesta has an airbag and crash bars in the doors
nobody goes out to have an accident do they?.......................the accidents come to you
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sorry kim2006 i was writing my post before your last post and was talking to others in general and not as a direct answer to you
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Go for it girl. It's what you want to try and I don't blame you. Millions of mini's were made, but not everyone died as a result of being in one. If you really want to be vulnerable, try a motorbike, or a pushbike or even walking !
If you're used to driving a modern car, you'll find that a mini feeds back a lot more of what's going on around you, from engine noise to road conditions. Within a couple of hours of driving you'll find that you and the car become 'as one'.
Well worth buying, good experience - and you'll end up being a more 'aware' driver.
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Mind you reading some of the posts, i'd feel very vunerable on the motorway in an old mini, especially whilst on the middle lane & a LHD truck pulls into your lane because they wasn't been able to see you. The aftermath would be unimaginable...
Unless your mini is bright yellow ;-)
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Good point, None. Old Minis obviously score badly for passive safety, but they're most unlikely to overturn, and rarely skid off the road.
The passive safety issue is curious - clearly a 2006 car is many times safer than one from 1986 - and yet I can remember friends of my parents saying in the 1960s that their lives had been saved in a head-on crash by the stout bodywork of their 1940s Wolseley. It was one of those huge solid ones that the police used until the 6/80 came in. It may be something to do with having a separate chassis, but it does seem that passive safety took a dip and has now recovered.
Mapmaker - we'll agree to disagree! A looked-after Mini, that Kim is going to have checked over (in cluding the subframe we hope) by a trustworthy garage, could well be less of a gamble than a neglected 10-year-old banger going for the same price.
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avant i cant get the ding a ling ling ding a ling lin out of my head from that wolseley now :-(
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